Techniques are known for changing a lateral illumination direction of a vehicular lamp in accordance with a steering operation.
Such a vehicular lamp is shown, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-160581. There, a lamp unit with a configuration rotatable in a lateral direction is provided with a lamp body (3) and a light source bulb (23) supported by the lamp body (3). In addition, a rotation shaft (output shaft) (16) of a driving portion (actuator) is connected to the lamp body. The rotation shaft (16) is rotated by electric power and a signal supplied via an external cord connected to a connector, whereby the lamp body (3) is rotated in the lateral direction so as to change an illumination direction of light distribution thereof in the lateral direction.
However, in the vehicular lamp described there, the connector of the actuator (11) is disposed facing toward the rear; therefore, the external cord for supplying electric power and a signal from the outside to the actuator (11) is drawn out toward the rear.
Moreover, a cord (27) for supplying electric power to the light source bulb (23) is disposed so as to extend toward the rear of the lamp body (3). If the external cord for supplying electric power and the signal to the actuator (11) is also positioned toward the rear, a wide rear space inside the lamp thus becomes required, which increases the dimensions of a depth direction of the lamp. Moreover, high-voltage electric power is required when a discharge bulb is used in the light source bulb. This necessitates a thicker power cord for the light source bulb in order to supply high-voltage electric power and prevent electromagnetic radiation. Consequently, such a power cord has little flexibility, and moves considerably in the lateral direction in conjunction with rotation of the lamp body (3) in the lateral direction. A significantly large space is thus required in order to ensure that the external cord for supplying electric power and the signal to the actuator (11) is positioned in a rear portion of the lamp so as not to interfere with the movement of the power cord. This inevitably requires the lamp to have a large rear protrusion.
Due to increased function and performance, there is an extremely high density of parts and devices disposed in the space underneath the hoods of recent automobiles, and designers are forced to find increasingly innovative methods for efficiently placing each device and part. In light of such conditions, it is extremely difficult nowadays to secure a large space for the placement of a lamp in a front portion of an automobile, especially space in the depth direction.
The present disclosure was made in light of the foregoing circumstances.